This is God
by Mistress Of The Macabre
Summary: A villager's take on Pein, the man who became God. Because even villagers have an opinion on those ninja who protect them, right? T for mentions of death.


**This is God. **

Konan. Nagato. Yahiko.

Everyone respected them. No, respect isn't the right word- everyone _loved _them. At first, I wasn't sure why- but later, I understood perfectly. In a village where the sky constantly wept for someone to take control and lead us, and where us mere villagers were constantly undermined by Hanzo, the three ninja had a certain presence about them that was…different. Unusual. It might constantly be crying blood in Amegakure, but…those three walked- no, _strolled- _through the village as though they hadn't a care in the world. Like they wore invisible cloaks that shielded them from the horrors of this place.

I'll admit, I don't know much about any of them. I've only ever spoken to Yahiko, what? Once? Twice? Three times at best? Yeah, as a whole, I hadn't had any experience with the trio, but still…Yahiko. I'd hardly spoken to him, but I remember this one time we talked…

It was raining. As usual.

I stared around me solemnly, at the deserted streets. As a general rule, Ame residents didn't mind the rain, but that day had been worse than usual. Rain fell in buckets; it was as if the heavens had opened up and unleashed all their misery on us, and even regular customers fled indoors. The streets filled up, and soon it was impossible to walk without being soaked to your knees.

I sighed. Business was bad as it was; I sure as hell didn't need this, not today. I ran the store for my father while he recovered from a bout of pneumonia; something that was becoming increasingly common through the constant rain. He wanted me to keep the store open at any cost, but really…it wasn't like we had the slightest chance of actually selling anything today.

I closed the door reluctantly. It couldn't be helped.

I began making my way home, trudging through the onslaught of rain. As I walked, I saw numerous people huddled in doorways, sniffling and trembling. Their eyes were wide with fright, and I felt their eyes bore into the back of my head as I passed. Homeless. That was actually a pretty common problem here- ever since Hanzo had taken control of Ame, I was seeing more and more people on the streets. It was horrible.

I turned a corner and that's when Yahiko showed up. I don't mean he appeared out of nowhere, I mean that he was walking towards me, head held high, a certain swagger to his step despite the rain and miserable wails from the homeless.

I smiled at him because that's just what you do when you meet a ninja who could beat the shit out of you if they wanted. "Nice day for it," I said lamely. If he heard the sarcasm in my voice, he chose to ignore it.

In fact, I'd nearly passed him by when he actually spoke.

"Our country's still crying."

I turned to face him, eyebrow raised. Yahiko stared at the ground, his hair a flame against water. He'd said it so quietly, so sadly, that if I hadn't been listening, I'd have missed it completely. Knowing that I'd actually stopped in curiosity, he looked up at me and grinned.

"I'm gonna change that!" he told me excitedly, eyes alight with a furious passion, "I'm gonna protect our country, and everyone in it! Including you!"

That was the first time I'd spoken to the man. Back then, I'd been young, and Yahiko even more so. But…there was something in those words. Some absolute truth that was impossible to ignore. He'd meant it. Every single word.

Since then, he was all I could think about. He loomed in my mind like- well, like a god, I guess. Sounds weird, I know, but…that sincerity…that compassion…it wasn't exactly something you saw very often, and when you did, you wanted to treasure that moment, that moment when you saw someone alive in what was otherwise a dead village.

Some years later, the trio attacked Hanzo. I'm not certain of what happened, but all us villagers were told to stay inside and stock up on supplies while the civil war raged around us. I tell you, it was terrible to listen to. Father and I huddled in the store (we'd figured that if we needed to survive for extended periods of time, the store would be the smart place to be), and listened as people screamed. We heard kunai clash, metal screaming against metal. And, during it all, it continued to rain. At some point, the electricity was cut, and we covered ourselves in blankets and waited for the war to end, one way or another.

Finally, it was over. Electricity was restored. We could begin our lives again.

They had won. Hanzo was well and truly dead. Usually we bury our dead, but Hanzo... I have no idea what the orphans had done with the body, and honestly, I didn't want to know.

I stepped outside. The sky was crying again. Yahiko's words echoed in my mind- _"Our country's still crying…" _and once again, I marvelled at the truth in those words. Over time, we learned that Nagato died in the struggle, and Konan and Yahiko had been traumatised. Konan no longer smiled. Yahiko inflicted pain on himself, in the form of piercings. So many that you almost wouldn't recognise him, if it wasn't for that blazing orange hair.

Yet they continued to lead us. Slowly, Amegakure recovered. The homeless were no longer homeless. We could breathe easy once again.

The second- and last- time I spoke to Yahiko was during one of my bad days. Well, bad store-wise. I'd only had three customers in six hours and was preparing to close up shop once more, out of sheer exasperation, when he appeared at my shoulder. I started and gave a small yelp- I wasn't used to ninja sneaking up on me.

Yeah. Yahiko had definitely changed since the confrontation with Hanzo. His eyes were darker now, a kind of dark grey, and they were cold, quite unlike the fiery passion they had shone with before. The amount of piercings on his face was almost ridiculous- yet he sent shivers up my spine. I'd feared and respected him before, but now…he was almost terrifying.

"Hi," I mumbled. Those eyes looked me over impassively. Whatever it was that he'd seen, it must have traumatised him something awful. I almost missed the cheerful, hairbrained kid compared to this guy. "Um…can I help you?"

"If you don't share someone's pain, you can never understand them," he told me gravely. I just sort of stared. What was that supposed to mean? Yahiko lips twitched in what I suspected was an attempt at a smile. "We are of the same breed, you and I. Your pain is my pain. I will do whatever it takes to mete out justice against those who have done this to you, my village. I will show them what true pain is."

As he spoke, I felt the queerest feeling. He was changed, yes, cold, calculating and absolutely terrifying, yet…as before, he spoke the absolute truth. His words warmed me, and I managed to muster a small smile for him. I knew he would do his absolute best to protect us.

"This country will weep no longer," he shouted, startling me, and threw his hands in the air. Incredibly, he began to rise from the ground, up into the sky, as if he weighed nothing. His crimson and black robes swirled around him, and he looked like…a god. There really was no other way to describe him.

I stared in amazement, as he continued rising into the sky, palms to the sky, expression fierce.

This…is God.


End file.
